


Maid

by inabodycastofglass



Series: Old works [14]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But there's no rape, F/M, It's more of a squint but warning anyway, Natalia is Meryl, Suicide mention, There's also a scene with drinking that gets sketchy, Twin AU, affair, self harm mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 09:04:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 11,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7970974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inabodycastofglass/pseuds/inabodycastofglass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meryl has no intention of letting Asch get away with anything, despite his position as her employer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Meryl knocked on the young master’s door. It had been a month since the princess had decided she didn’t want her around and sent her to “that losers house” instead. So now she was stuck taking care of another person that didn’t like her instead.

“Time to wake up, young master. It’s nearly ten o’clock.”

There was no sound in the room, not even the sound of shifting sheets from him turning over.

“If you don’t get up, I’ll be forced to come in.” She waited, but there was still no response. “Suit yourself.”

She pushed open the door and walked up to the bed. She was already used to his stubborn behavior in the morning, though he obviously wasn’t used to a servant that he wasn’t able to intimidate.

And, just as she suspected, there he was, sleeping like an infant. She sighed and tried to shake him awake.

He slapped her hands away and she tried again. “Young master, wake up.” She tried pulling him up, but somehow, even completely asleep, he still managed to keep himself on the bed. “This is not a game, young master. Your parents are expecting you downstairs. You’ve already missed breakfast.”

He pulled his arm out of hers and pulled the covers over his head. Something incoherent came from his mouth and he curled himself into a ball.

Meryl sighed and tapped her foot. This was the most stubborn he’d been yet. She sighed, doing the only thing she could think of. She pushed him over the side of the bed.

He shoved the blankets off of himself and sat up, leaning over the bed.

He swore at her, his face nearly as red as his hair. “Why did you do that?”

She smiled politely and shrugged. “Your parents wish to speak with you. You currently have nothing else planned for the day.” She paused for a moment. “Would you like any help preparing yourself?”

His cheeks turned a different shade of red and he turned away from her, his back resting against the edge of his bed. “No.” He paused. “Thank you.”

She smiled at him. “Then I shall take my leave.” She curtsied despite him not being able to see her and walked to the door. Before she shut it she turned back to him, catching his glance. “I will be back in fifteen minutes to check on you.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but she had already closed the door.

She stood outside, listening to him rummaging through his clothes and swearing for a moment before continuing to the servants courtiers.

“Good morning, Meryl.”

She smiled at Guy. “Good morning.” She walked with him, at a safe distance from each other. “How are things going with master Luke?”

He shrugged. “Same as always. He yells a lot and then refuses to do what he’s told until you force him, kicking and screaming.”

She laughed. “It sounds like I really did get the better deal.”

“So is Asch actually doing what you tell him?” His voice was awed.

She hummed. “He takes a bit of convincing, but I like to think I’m pretty good at it.”

“You’ll have to tell me your secrets some time.”

“Some time. But not now. I have to check on him again, to make sure he didn’t fall back asleep.”

She turned around and made her way back to Asch’s room. She rapped on the door promptly, turning the handle without pausing. “I’m coming in.”

Asch stood in the center of his room, half naked, and staring at her. Upon locking eyes, his face turned an angry shade of red. “D-don’t just barge in here without being invited!”

Despite her own pink cheeks, Meryl didn’t flinch. She placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head back, so she was looking directly at him. “If you had gotten dressed after I came in, we wouldn’t be having this little argument, now would we?”

There was a moment where the two only glared at each other before Asch turned away, hiding his face. “I-” the words were a whisper and Natalia had to strain to hear. “I had something to do.”

She pursed her lips. “What on earth could be more important than getting ready to meet your parents?”

He turned back to her, his glare deadly now as his face was noticeably more red than before.

Her expression turned to shock as her eyes widened and her mouth gaped in realization. “Oh. Um, yes. I will… I will be right outside.” She scurried toward the door and stopped before closing it. She turned back to him, still staring at her, embarrassed glare still on his face, though a bit more helpless than before. She placed the hand not on the doorknob onto her hip and forced herself to appear more composed than she felt. “And do hurry up. Your mother is surely to get worried if you take too much longer.”

She shut the door and stood until her knees gave out. She leaned against the door and covered her face with both hands. How did she get herself into these sorts of things? She could just die. At least she could take a bit of comfort in the fact that Asch was also embarrassed.

He opened the door behind her, causing her to stumble backwards. Luckily (or unluckily) he caught her.

“Be more careful, damnit.”

She pulled away and faced him. “You shouldn’t be swearing, Master Asch. Your mother would have a heart attack.”

He scoffed at her. “Whatever. I’m leaving.”

She sighed and followed him, leaving a few feet difference between the two of them. This was going to be another long day.


	2. Chapter 2

Meryl knocked on the young master’s door. It had been a month since the princess had decided she didn’t want her around and sent her to “that losers house” instead. So now she was stuck taking care of another person that didn’t like her instead.

“Time to wake up, young master. It’s nearly ten o’clock.”

There was no sound in the room, not even the sound of shifting sheets from him turning over.

“If you don’t get up, I’ll be forced to come in.” She waited, but there was still no response. “Suit yourself.”

She pushed open the door and walked up to the bed. She was already used to his stubborn behavior in the morning, though he obviously wasn’t used to a servant that he wasn’t able to intimidate.

And, just as she suspected, there he was, sleeping like an infant. She sighed and tried to shake him awake.

He slapped her hands away and she tried again. “Young master, wake up.” She tried pulling him up, but somehow, even completely asleep, he still managed to keep himself on the bed. “This is not a game, young master. Your parents are expecting you downstairs. You’ve already missed breakfast.”

He pulled his arm out of hers and pulled the covers over his head. Something incoherent came from his mouth and he curled himself into a ball.

Meryl sighed and tapped her foot. This was the most stubborn he’d been yet. She sighed, doing the only thing she could think of. She pushed him over the side of the bed.

He shoved the blankets off of himself and sat up, leaning over the bed.

He swore at her, his face nearly as red as his hair. “Why did you do that?”

She smiled politely and shrugged. “Your parents wish to speak with you. You currently have nothing else planned for the day.” She paused for a moment. “Would you like any help preparing yourself?”

His cheeks turned a different shade of red and he turned away from her, his back resting against the edge of his bed. “No.” He paused. “Thank you.”

She smiled at him. “Then I shall take my leave.” She curtsied despite him not being able to see her and walked to the door. Before she shut it she turned back to him, catching his glance. “I will be back in fifteen minutes to check on you.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but she had already closed the door.

She stood outside, listening to him rummaging through his clothes and swearing for a moment before continuing to the servants courtiers.

“Good morning, Meryl.”

She smiled at Guy. “Good morning.” She walked with him, at a safe distance from each other. “How are things going with master Luke?”

He shrugged. “Same as always. He yells a lot and then refuses to do what he’s told until you force him, kicking and screaming.”

She laughed. “It sounds like I really did get the better deal.”

“So is Asch actually doing what you tell him?” His voice was awed.

She hummed. “He takes a bit of convincing, but I like to think I’m pretty good at it.”

“You’ll have to tell me your secrets some time.”

“Some time. But not now. I have to check on him again, to make sure he didn’t fall back asleep.”

She turned around and made her way back to Asch’s room. She rapped on the door promptly, turning the handle without pausing. “I’m coming in.”

Asch stood in the center of his room, half naked, and staring at her. Upon locking eyes, his face turned an angry shade of red. “D-don’t just barge in here without being invited!”

Despite her own pink cheeks, Meryl didn’t flinch. She placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head back, so she was looking directly at him. “If you had gotten dressed after I came in, we wouldn’t be having this little argument, now would we?”

There was a moment where the two only glared at each other before Asch turned away, hiding his face. “I-” the words were a whisper and Natalia had to strain to hear. “I had something to do.”

She pursed her lips. “What on earth could be more important than getting ready to meet your parents?”

He turned back to her, his glare deadly now as his face was noticeably more red than before.

Her expression turned to shock as her eyes widened and her mouth gaped in realization. “Oh. Um, yes. I will… I will be right outside.” She scurried toward the door and stopped before closing it. She turned back to him, still staring at her, embarrassed glare still on his face, though a bit more helpless than before. She placed the hand not on the doorknob onto her hip and forced herself to appear more composed than she felt. “And do hurry up. Your mother is surely to get worried if you take too much longer.”

She shut the door and stood until her knees gave out. She leaned against the door and covered her face with both hands. How did she get herself into these sorts of things? She could just die. At least she could take a bit of comfort in the fact that Asch was also embarrassed.

He opened the door behind her, causing her to stumble backwards. Luckily (or unluckily) he caught her.

“Be more careful, damnit.”

She pulled away and faced him. “You shouldn’t be swearing, Master Asch. Your mother would have a heart attack.”

He scoffed at her. “Whatever. I’m leaving.”

She sighed and followed him, leaving a few feet difference between the two of them. This was going to be another long day.


	3. Chapter 3

The day went slowly for Meryl. She spent every moment helping him with something. She was forced to feed him, read to him, sing to him, change his water and rags, tended to his fever, even help him to the bathroom. In fact, the only times she was away from him was when he was in the bathroom and she was standing outside the door.

At the end of the night, after he had finally drifted off to sleep she stood up to leave.

His hand caught her and she looked down at him, more surprised that he was still awake than anything. She had even waited for an extra half hour to make sure he was really sleeping.

“Do you need something, Master Asch?”

He shook his head, but only to one side, so it looked like he was trying to turn over. “Stay.”

His voice was so quiet that Meryl had to lean in and ask him to repeat himself.

He swallowed. She was right near his face, able to hear his long deep breaths. “Stay.” His voice cracked. “With me.”

She stood up, feeling slightly annoyed. She needed to go back to her room, take a bath, go to sleep. If she stayed she would surely get sick as well, if she wasn’t already contaminated.

But as he looked at her with those half lidded eyes, he seemed so lonely. He was like a child being ignored.

She knew his backstory from the princess and Guy. Viscount Fabre expected excellence from him and if he didn’t meet his standards, Asch was appraised poorly and ignored until he provided better results. Luke received the same treatment, but he was willing to go to his mother or Guy for relief. Asch refused.

In a way, he was still a child. This was a big step for him, asking for someone to stay. Though it was probably the result of his fever, there was a chance that he would never ask for help again.

Certainly not if she denied his request.

So, smiling at him, she slipped off her shoes and climbed into the bed next to him, pushing gently on his side. “Scoot over.”

He complied, albeit slowly.

“You can’t expect me to sit in that chair all night, can you?”

He made no response as she adjusted herself comfortably beside him. The two rested, facing each other. Meryl felt oddly relaxed next to him.

Before she managed to fall asleep, Asch had wrapped both of his arms around her, pulled her against him, and buried his face in her collar bone. She allowed it. This once.


	4. Chapter 4

When Meryl woke up the next morning, she felt very warm. She and Asch had slept nearly attached the entire night. She actually couldn’t remember when she had gotten that good of a night’s sleep, though she would never admit it.

But something else was different.

Asch sat, leaning on one elbow over her, the other hand was using its fingers to slowly caress her arm while he kissed her.

Her eyes fluttered open, her lashes brushing across his cheek.

He pulled back quickly, his face red and his eyes wide. He obviously wasn’t expecting her to wake up.

But she did. She stared at him, her mouth parted slightly as she tried to speak. Only a few awkward noises came from her mouth, squeaks and gasps. She closed her mouth for a moment, swallowing. She didn’t like the way her arm tingled, a sweet feeling, or the way she could still feel his lips.

He was right above her, staring at her, waiting for her response. So close that she could feel his breath mixing with hers.

She opened her mouth again and managed to force out the word, “how”.

He leaned down and kissed her again, slipping his hand behind her neck and pulling her in closer. He wasn’t so gentle this time, no longer worried about waking her.

She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him just far enough away that their lips were no longer touching, though there noses still brushed against each other, making her throat catch.

“I-” He clenched his jaw. “I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes, opened them again, and looked at her lips. “I just-” He swallowed. “I-“

She looked to the side, not sure what to do. Had he still been delirious from his fever, or did he possibly…?

She shoved the thought from her mind. Asch hated her, and he was engaged to the princess. Everything about this was just wrong. She sighed, sitting up. “I really should be going. I have duties to attend to. I must inform your mother as to your state.”

She couldn’t look at him, staring at her with that desperate expression. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and started putting her shoes back on.

His hand wrapped around the fabric of her shirt. “Don’t go.”

She froze. “Master Asch, please let me go. I have to-“

“Don’t go!” He sat up and scooted toward her. His hand released her shirt and his arm circled around her waist, the other one wrapping around her shoulders while he buried his face in the curve of her neck. “Please don’t go.” His body was shaking.

She reached a hand slowly over her shoulder to place on his head, wavering momentarily before she did so. What on earth was going on with him today?

She sighed and relaxed her body, knowing she couldn’t leave him alone in this state. “If you promise to calm down.”

He nodded.

“All right, I’ll stay.” She slipped her shoe back off, seeing no reason to keep it on. When he didn’t release her she grew impatient. “I promise, I’ll stay here until you feel better.”

There was a moment before he nodded again. Though he didn’t release her.

“Master Asch, if you would let me go, there is something I need to do.”

He spoke into her shoulder. “You promised.” His lips and breath on her shirt, moving the fabric and brushing her skin sent a shiver up her spine. He smirked.

“Yes, but,” She cleared her throat. “there is still something I need to do. I will only be a moment.”

He waited a moment and released her.

When she turned around to look at him, his head was tilted down and his hair covered his face. She wanted to know what he was thinking. She sighed again and ruffled his hair. “I’m taking a shower. I’ll be using yours.”


	5. Chapter 5

Meryl had taken some time off from babysitting the princess when she was eleven to help Luke, who had lost his memories in a traumatic experience after being kidnapped. He had forgotten everything; how to speak, how to walk, hers and guys faces, even his own mother. But she didn’t worry about him. Luke could take care of himself. Asch still hadn’t been found.

Twelve months had passed before he was. She had been sent out to get some items by the Duke Fabre who disapproved of her methods at trying to cheer up and teach his son.

She had an arm full of groceries when she saw red hair. Someone had shoved him out of a restaurant, telling him to bring his parents and some money if he wanted some food.

She had to look again to make sure it was him. He looked different, but not in the same way Luke had when he returned. He looked… broken.

“Asch?” He looked at her, and she saw he'd been crying.

She dropped the groceries and ran over to him, pulling him close to her. She cried into his shoulder, holding him as tight as she could so he wouldn’t disappear again, until her arms hurt. “Thank Lorelei you’re okay. I was beginning to think-” She didn’t let herself finish. But Asch already knew.

“I’m alive.”


	6. Chapter 6

Asch never told anyone what happened during the year he was gone. Everyone just accepted that Malkuth was to blame.

He did, however, become more distant than before. He was no longer the shy boy he was the first five years she knew him. He was just angry all the time. He never spoke to her or Luke and spent all of his time locked away, reading books, where he wouldn’t allow her to join him. The acceptance of Guy and his father no longer seemed to matter.

Every once and awhile she would catch him staring at her. But then he would look away and avoid her again. When she attempted to speak to him, to hold a conversation the way they had before, he would ignore her, or yell and storm away. Occasionally she would stay in the manor overnight, and when she woke up, there would be a warm tingle on her lips.

She opened her eyes to find it was already dark. Asch had curled himself around her again in his first act of pure childishness in six years. As she felt his soft, even breath on her neck, slowly blowing her hair, she wondered if the feeling of her lips was just a part of her dream.

There was a knock at the door. She rearranged herself so she could slip out of his grasp without waking him. She opened the door as quietly as she could. “Guy? Asch is asleep. Don’t wake him, he's still sick.”

“I’m actually here to see you, Meryl. Your father’s here.”

“Papa’s back?” She put her shoes on and kissed Asch on the forehead (nothing heals without a kiss), and ran to the drawing room.

“Papa!” She jumped into his arms. “You're home.”

He embraced her. “I am. And, if I’m correct, your birthday is in a week.”

She stared up at him, her eyes watering. “Will you be home for my birthday this year?”

“I will. And, if you are ready, the Lady Fabre has given permission for you to leave with me right now.”

She thought of Asch being sick, but pushed it aside. His fever had gone down and she had woken up to a manageable cold. He would be fine with another maid attending to him. “Oh, yes! Just let me grab my things.”

And within the hour she was fixing cocoa for the two of them in their kitchen (always hers, as long as he lived), speaking loudly and energetically about politics, the economy, and international relations, which had been her favourite subjects in school.

“You were born to be a noble.”

She laughed as she handed him his mug, much larger than her own.

“I'm sorry your mother and I could not afford to give you better opportunities.”

“Oh hush, Papa. You and mother made me happy. I'm nineteen now and almost an adult. I'll make my own happiness. You only need to concern yourself with your happiness.”

He placed his large hand on her head and smoothed down her hair. “You're a good girl, Meryl. Your mother would be proud.”

She just rested her head on his shoulder and he lulled her to sleep with stories of his adventures.


	7. Chapter 7

Meryl was woken on the morning of her birthday by a knock at the door. When she answered, there was no one there, so she just closed it and tried to go back to sleep. There was another knock. Sighing, she threw her covers back off and went to the door to yell at the kids playing pranks. “Do you realize-” Her eyes were attracted to white and red hanging from her door knob. She picked it up and examined it. They were roses, her favourite, and in the centre a single morning glory, blue, her favourite colour.

She peeled the the note off the door. The writing was familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She looked around for the sender, who was obviously watching, but found no one. So, smelling her new bouquet, she stepped back inside and closed the door.

“What is that?”

She looked to Badaq in his morning robe and shook her head. “It was on the door when I opened it. A present.” She fetched her mother’s vase and filled it with water. “The note only says ‘happy birthday’.”

“Perhaps it's from a secret admirer.” He was smiling in the soft way he did. She knew he wanted her to achieve all her dreams, including the one where she fell in love and the two of them solved world poverty together.

“Perhaps you're right. Could it be one of the butlers?” She could think of no one else aside from her friends - the other maids in the castle and Fabre Manor - and the twins and Guy who knew it was her birthday. The prior always held a small party on the weekend after her birthday (which was being held this year after her papa left again), and the latter had already given her their presents. Well, Luke and Guy had. Asch hadn’t given her one in seven years.

That night she was staring at the note, attempting to decipher the writing, when she noticed erased letters on the bottom. It took her nearly an hour to make them out.

“M-Y-B-E-L-O-V-E-D”.


	8. Chapter 8

Badaq told Meryl the story of how he and her mother met and fell in love, as he did every year, and she, just like every year, told the story to her friends. The princess enjoyed it as well, it was the only story Meryl told that she listened to. And, because the princess listened, Luke, who had taken a very teenage boy liking to her, listened as well. Guy would listen occasionally from a safe distance, and Asch had stopped listening years ago.

“So Papa walked right up to her, got down on one knee, and slipped the makeshift ring onto her finger. He said ‘I have been traveling for years protecting people who could not protect themselves. In all of those years I have never met a person as capable, as intelligent, and as resourceful as you. Your beauty makes you the first, second, and third glance of every man who has the gift of seeing you. You deserve so much more than you are given. You deserve more than me. But I want you anyway. I want to spend every day with you until the day we die. Life may be difficult, but as long as I have you in it, nothing is unbearable. I only hope you can some day see me with even close to the same amount of angelic light I see when I look at you every moment of every day’.”

“Oh, what happened next?”

Meryl grinned at the princess, who already knew the answer to every “what happened next” that she asked during the story. “She just kissed him. No words, just a kiss for a yes. They were married within the year.”

“Oh, how romantic. I only hope something half as romantic could happen to me some day. But as long as I’m engaged to that unromantic stick in the mud, Asch, it will never happen.”

Meryl though about what she said, about Asch being unromantic. Somehow she knew that to be false. She had seen him reading poetry more than once, and often times he would quote some of her favourite stories (albeit oftentimes out of context). He would always help her up when she stumbled, and when he found her crying he wouldn’t leave her alone until she calmed down. She just wondered if the princess just had a different sense of what was romantic.

Then she thought about the two of them being engaged and had to tell herself that it didn’t upset her. Still, she couldn’t shake the sticky, full feeling she got when she imagined the two of them together.

When Guy asked her if she was okay she told him she was thinking about her mother. When he didn’t move, she asked if she could be alone, as she was going to go to bed soon, and he left.

When she was sure he was gone she started to cry. Her body shook and heaved and tears poured out like there were no eyes to keep them back. She clutched herself and leaned onto the floor, unable to hold herself up. But there was no sound apart from a couple of high pitched sobbing noises and some gasping. Anyone outside the room wouldn’t even know she was in there.

When she finally stopped she was laying on the floor, curled into a ball and sleepy. She didn’t have the energy to pick herself up, so she closed her eyes and started drifting off.

Somewhere in her dreams, she was lifted up, like a new bride in the old stories, and whisked away. And something soft and sweet. Another kiss. No, this wasn’t a dream kiss.

She opened her eyes, but no one was around. She sat up, covers falling off of her. But when had she gotten into bed? Had she done so while half asleep or had-

No, there was no use even thinking about it. There was no way anyone had been in her room. She just closed her eyes and tried for sleep again. But she couldn't relax. So she opened her eyes and got out of bed, her legs still shaking under her from crying so much. But once she started walking, there was no longer any thoughts in her head. Her feet just took her around the maze of the Fabre mansion until she stood in front of the towering door of Asch’s room.

The lock was still broken from several weeks ago. It made no sense as to why he hadn’t gotten it fixed. She knew he could do so himself if he got impatient. Asch was very skilled with his hands. He was very skilled with anything that didn’t involve other people, really. And while she was lost in thought, she had walked inside and stood over his bed, watching him sleep. Slowly she smiled, almost afraid he would see.

Consciously she took a seat, her chair left where it was from before. With a light sigh she reached forward and just brushed his hand before his fingers intertwined with hers.

He was watching her, his expression serious. He sat up slowly while she held his gaze, unable to breath, unable to breath. “What are you doing here?”

She tried to speak, tried to push anything from her lungs aside from the small squeak that pushed it’s way out in place of words. Giving up, she just shook her head.

“You shouldn't break into a guys room in the middle of the night.”

She could only gape while trying to make sense of his words. What about Asch was unsafe for her? What exactly had been going through his mind these past six years that he kept the location of the locked box a secret, different from the the location of the secret key that even he forgot where it was located.

His hand touched her chin, making her jump. He stopped, studying her. Slowly he moved it again, caressing her jawline, her cheek, and to the back of her neck where he rested his hand. He pulled himself closer to her and she had to cross her eyes for a moment to keep his image clear. He rested above her lips for a reaction, any reaction, while his breath ran over her lips.

There was none. So he kissed her. It was simple at first, just sitting there, resting on her own and causing her stomach to flutter in a way that felt like butterflies were flying from the tar that had settled itself there. And then there was pressure. He leaned into her, his other hand wrapping around her waist and leaning her backwards. He pulled her toward him, making her jump and gasp. The air caught in her chest and fell out slowly, smoke seeping from her mind, caught on fire.

He pulled away, just slowly enough to let the fire in her head fade out to embers. He watched her expression, dazed, smoky like her head. She couldn’t even find it in herself to open her eyes fully, staring into the intense ones blazing into her. She shivered as his hand trailed over her hips and down to her mid thigh and cupped around it, pulling her just slightly toward him, to which she easily complied. Laying her down next to him, he slipped her leg around his and, with his placing another kiss on her lips, she drifted into sleep.

She didn’t want to admit it, but her last coherent thought she had before she lost consciousness was that, inevitably, she was falling for Asch, an engaged man that had romanced and seduced her with innocence.


	9. Chapter 9

Meryl and Asch became very intimate over the next few months. Every day he would take her by the hand and lead her into the trees for a “lesson” as he called it. The two would sit, leaning against a tree and just kiss, kiss in every way possible, while his hands caressed her sides and her stomach, and hers his neck and his shoulders.

The first time he touched her she pulled away. “Don’t. I don’t like being touched there.” Her face was red and there was a cold feeling that made her want to shrink away and never be seen. He only took his hand in hers and stared into her eyes until the feeling went away.

He was slow to touch again, making sure she was okay. Over time she became comfortable with herself. She even found herself looking forward to his small touches, the one’s where he would brush her arm with his fingers when they passed in the halls, when he would lightly grab her hand when she passed him his food, and steal a quick kiss under the stairs when they were both in the same hall alone, which happened far too often for Meryl to think it a coincidence.

He had taken to following her every time she left the castle. When she went shopping he would offer to carry the bags, which had previously been Guy’s job, though he had happily give up the position as all the girls in town would flirt with him, which she said he brought upon himself with his behavior. His mother was just glad that he was finally beginning to open up again, even if it was to just a maid girl. Meryl embraced the opportunity to act like a real couple where no one knew who Asch was. They would openly walk hand in hand and when a girl started to flirt with him, she would grab his arm and hold it to her. She loved that out here he was hers.

It was wrong, though. She knew that. He was engaged to the princess and theirs was only an affair. It couldn't last and she knew it would only hurt her in the end, cripple her with how strong her feelings were growing. And it always sat on the front of her mind in everything she did, screaming at her that she was going to get hurt. What was she doing?

And she knew Guy saw them. He pulled her under the staircase one day and kissed her longer than he should have. When they emerged he was walking away. Neither called after him, neither wanted to know the truth. They only looked at each other, hoping that he could keep it a secret. Still, he stole another kiss, both frightened that this could be their last, before running off to the library.

Luke became suspicious, though they knew Guy hadn’t told. If he had there would have been questions. He would want to know everything that had happened. But none came, and, until they did, the two would assume they were safe.

They also snuck into each other’s rooms at night. They found they both slept better together. Most nights they would stay up talking until the sun came up, not remembering a word of it after waking up, horribly exhausted and having to pretend they were perfectly fine. But on many nights they just fell right to sleep, feeling comfortable and safe.

On one particular night he had been kissing her. He rested his head into the corner of her neck and kissed her again. Quietly, so she barely heard him, he whispered “my beloved”. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She wondered why he had given her the flowers the way he did. But it just didn’t seem to matter. What did was that, after nearly a year, she was in great danger of falling in love with Asch, in love with an affair under the pretense of a relationship. And she was scared.


	10. Chapter 10

It wasn’t Guy that revealed their affair. That was the first thing Meryl though as she packed her bags to leave the manor. He understood, she believed, how much she cared for him. She had seen him watching them, watching her, since he found out. He had seen when their eyes met as they passed each other in the halls, how she would hesitate before she entered his room for any reason, how their gazes rested on the other for just a moment longer than necessary. And she knew Guy, more than any other person, craved the touch of a lover. He watched them with such envy, enough to make her feel guilty for having it when he did not. So he understood.

It wasn’t Luke, she thought as she began to cry. He found out several months back when she was explaining something to him in her room, and Asch walked in. Of course Asch became jealous of his younger brother and started to yell that she was ‘his’, and Meryl had to calm him down.

The two watched as Luke realized exactly what he meant. And at first he was outraged that he was betraying the princess, and that Meryl was helping him. The two almost knew he would tell someone by the time the night was over. But the next morning he came to her room to apologize. When she asked Asch to leave so she could explain their situation to Luke, one on one, he kissed her. It was light, but it made her blush.

Luke asked why he had been there all night. She could have saved her job if they had just ended the affair. She explained to him that, if it was going to be their last night, they were going to spend it together. Luke, not quite understanding, said he would help. He liked Meryl and, as much as he would deny it if she said anything about it, Asch. Though Meryl knew that, on some level, he was glad Asch had no interest in the princess.

But then Tear came, and at first they fought. She hated him for being so immature and selfish and he hated her for being so uptight and strict. For the first few months they barely spoke without arguing. It wasn’t until he came back one day, in complete shock and looking like he had been crying, with her arm around him, that they started to grow closer. With his hair shorter he started to change, feeling some sort of guilt that Meryl never asked about. Slowly she watched them fall in love, the sweet, caring sort of love. It was so different from her longing, heartbreaking sort.

Luke knew love, he understood, he would never tell.

“Would you like some help?” She looked up to see Guy standing in her doorway. She wiped the tears away, but they wouldn’t slow enough for it to make a difference, so she only nodded.

The two were silent for a long, long while as they packed her various bags. “I’ll help you carry them to Badaq’s house. There’s too much for you to carry by yourself.”

Tear and Luke had already offered. He knew that, she knew. She tried to thank him, but all that came out was a sob. She covered her mouth with her hand, turning away from him. She hurt. Her chest hurt, her stomach hurt, her head hurt. Her everything, everything hurt.

She felt something tap the top of her head and she turned around. It was a package. She took it from him, eyes wide. “Why…?”

He smiled, his lips shaking. “It’s a present. Sorry I couldn’t wrap it, I was planning on giving it to you tomorrow. Happy birthday.”

She opened it. It was a necklace, a cross made of arrows on a thin silver link chain. “Oh, Guy, it’s beautiful. How did you afford it?”

He shrugged. Looking away. “It wasn’t too expensive. I have a friend who makes these sorts of things.” He looked back to her, lifting his hands for a moment to her, trying to bring himself to put it around her shoulders, and putting them back down. He sighed. “I- you know-” He stopped, taking a breath. “If-” He looked at his hands. “I’ve been working on touching girls. Brushing their arms when I pass them in the hallway, shaking their hands, things like that. I’ve gotten really good at it.”

“That’s fantastic, Guy.” She meant it, but she just couldn’t bring herself to be as happy as she would at any other time. “Perhaps it's only a matter of time before you find someone to love.” She was crying again. His window as opening up right as hers was closing.

“Meryl, I-” He scooted slightly closer to her. “I know you can’t forget Asch that quickly, but maybe, just - just maybe, in a few months, even a few years you can start to move on. And when, um, when you do...” He reached for her hand, touching it just slightly, making her look up at him. His entire body was shaking and he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He just looked at the ground in front of her. ”Perhaps you could, just maybe, look at me?” His voice was shaking. It was obvious how much he was pushing himself to say this.

“Oh, Guy, I-” She pulled her hand away and he jumped back. He was still so scared. “I can’t even think of something like that right now. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

He stood up. “No, you’re right. I was out of bounds. I’ll just… I’ll just leave you alone now."

Before she could look up he was gone.

She stared at the door for a while. She knew she hurt him. He had done such a huge thing, and she had hurt him. But, despite the guilt she felt for it, all she could think of was Asch. Thoughts of him filled her head to the brim. There was no room for Guy in there, not with Asch smiling and yelling, face turned red, mumbling voice, arms wrapping around her, gaze lingering, eyes traveling over her, lips kissing her. She leaned herself over and cried, voice echoing down the hall as he tore her body apart, overflowing from her. Asch.

She cried.


	11. Chapter 11

Meryl tilted another cup to her lips for another drink. She’d already finished two pints and Guy was beginning to get worried. He had suggested she stop for the night twice and she only curtly responded with, “I will hug you”, and he tactfully backed off.

Meryl hated being alone in her father’s house, so she was thrilled when Guy started stopping by regularly. The two fell so easily into the same jeering routine they had before that she often felt guilty for leading him on. It had, after all, only been a month since she was kicked out of the Fon Fabre manor and forced to sever her relationship with Asch. Still, the guilty comfort Guy brought her was better than the coldness of the empty house.

He had told her about walking in on Tear and Luke’s kiss, and about how Luke got nervous and accidentally poked Tear in the eye with his nose. Meryl wound up giggling so hard he wasn’t able to finish the story.

When she finally managed to catch her breath she found him staring at her, smiling with a face more red than her own. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”

Her throat felt very dry. She took another drink to wash it down, but only succeeded in making it feel all filmy. She used a napkin from the table to remove the layer of yuck, but there was no change. She took another drink.

She flinched when she felt him scoot closer to her. She looked over, her glass still at her lips. “Meryl.” She placed the glass on the table and smiled at him, giving a small “hm” in response. She felt a small bubble in her stomach that she didn’t quite recognize. Her entire world seemed to be covered in a vale. He leaned forward, and she just followed him with her eyes, still smiling stupidly. Carefully he kissed her, just lightly at first, barely even a touch.

Her reaction was instinctive. She leaned into him, a heated desire filling her body, washing over her face. She didn’t even notice when he flinched. In less time than her glazed mind could process she was on his lap, leaning into him, her arms wrapped around him and her hands clinging to his back. His own had simply locked behind her back.

“Moving on a little quickly, aren’t we?” She looked back. The princess was staring at her with her arms crossed. She couldn’t decipher her expression.

“What?”

The princess pointed to Guy.

She looked to him. He was glaring at the princess, his jaw locked tight. She noticed she had started to undo his shirt. “Oh. Uh…” She started to get off, not sure what else to do. His hand wrapped around hers.

“I thought you couldn’t touch girls, Guy?”

Meryl looked back to her. She was smirking. That was right, Guy was afraid of women. She looked back to him. “Guy?”

“I can't, but when I drink, I calm down a bit.” He looked up at her, his eyes softer now. “Meryl, I-“

“You sicken me.”

She looked back to the princess, shocked. The two hadn’t gotten along since they turned nine, but never had she thought she would detest her so much. “What?”

“I thought you loved him!”

Loved Guy? She had never felt such things for him.

“So what? You get caught and decide ‘well that’s it, guess I better move on to someone else’?”

Oh. Asch. She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off.

“All the while he hasn’t left his room the entire month you’ve been gone because he just doesn’t want to live without you. You are disgusting! A disgrace to all women!”

Meryl caught herself on the table. Her head hurt, it hurt. She leaned over and clutched at it, trying to make the pain go away. It hurt. Asch.

Liquid hit her face and she looked up. The princess had throw what was left in her cup at her. After a moment the shock wore off and she released what was going on around her. She looked over at Guy, so close, and remembered what had happened just a few minutes ago. She scooted backwards and off of him, stumbling. He caught her, but she pulled out of his grasp, regretting it when he looked so hurt, but she just held her hands close to herself. She felt disgusting.

“Never, never show your face around the manor or the castle again, you little slut!”

“Natalia!” Her eyes shot to the place where the voice was coming from. Asch? No… It was Luke. She felt the tears coming out now. He placed a hand on the princesses arm, pulling her back. “That’s not fair. She’s not sober.”

Tear placed a hand on her shoulder and helped her to her feet. “Come on, Meryl. We’ll get you home and cleaned up.”

She didn’t look back at the scene behind her as Tear led her away. She didn’t want to know what was being screamed between the three of them. She didn’t want to be here right now. She didn’t want to be her, a harlot. She didn’t want to have betrayed Asch, but she did.

When she got home, Tear drew her a bath and helped her into it. She helped the girl wash the alcohol out of her hair and helped her dry it and brush it after the water grew cold. She didn’t push her away when she started to cry into her chest. And she let Meryl cling to her all night, stroking her hair and telling her everything would be all right. It was only because Tear was so kind to her, gentle in a way Meryl didn’t think she could be, that she was even able to continue breathing that night.


	12. Chapter 12

Meryl stood at the front entrance of the Fabre manor, her entire body shaking. She was gripping to Tear so hard could barely feel her fingertips. She had convinced Meryl to come to the manor and admit to Asch herself what had happened. He deserved to know. But no matter how much he deserved it, it didn’t lessen the swelling in her chest. She nodded, just slightly, and Tear led her inside.

There was screaming that could be heard from the garden. The two girls took off at a run to Asch’s room.

“Shut up! I’ll kill you!”

They threw open the door to find Guy shoved against a bookshelf. Meryl ran forward and grabbed onto Asch's arm, bent behind him and ready to punch Guy. He threw her off without even looking to see who she was.

“Asch, stop this foolishness right now!”

He looked back at Tear. “Get out! This is between me and him!”

Meryl noticed the tears in his eyes. She always loved those small details about him, how he would tear up when frustrated, or how his ears turned red before his cheeks. But now it only made her feel as if a rock was being pressed against the swelling in her chest.

“No, Asch. Guy was only pursuing a girl he cared about. This is between you and Meryl.” She motioned to her.

Asch dropped Guy. He turned to face her. She watched his expression change as his shoulders dropped and his arms went limp. He looked glazed, like she had felt last night, but not in the same way. His was hurt, betrayed, broken.

Tear turned to him once more before closing the door behind her. “I was with her last night, Asch. I have never seen a girl cry so much in my life. Just,” she paused, ”just keep that in mind.”

And she was gone, leaving Meryl to stare at a broken and hurt Asch. She couldn’t say anything. She couldn’t breath. She just stood up and watched him. She bit her lip, chewed it. It wasn’t making her feel better like it usually did. It just made it hurt. “I-” She looked down. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t respond. “I was drinking. It was the only way I could feel better. Otherwise I was just sitting at home, staring at the wall and thinking about everything that had happened. It was so suffocating.”

She reached for his hand but he pulled away. Though she understood, it didn’t make it hurt any less. She wouldn't have wanted to touch her either. “I wasn’t thinking when I did it. It was wrong of me, and it’s not something I could ever make up for. I know that.” She wiped the tears from her face. “I don’t even know why I came here. I was just hoping-” She couldn’t breath.

He turned away from her, to hide the tears, she knew. She reached forward, placing her hand on his shoulders. He didn’t pull away. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as she could. “I’m sorry.” She buried her face into his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” She felt him reach up to touch her hand, but just let it drop.

“You should go.”

His voice was so thick with the emotion he wasn’t used to feeling. It hurt her to hear it, to know she'd caused it. It was sharp, penetrating her chest.

She held to him, not breathing, not even crying, while his words sunk in. With her arms shaking she slowly, slowly, slowly let him go. She walked to the door even slower, her hand hesitating on the handle. She couldn’t help the hope that he would change his mind, and tell her to stay.

There was nothing. Just before she closed the door, through the last crack, she leaned in close. Her voice was raspy from so much emotion, but she still let the words pass over her lips, her damnable lips. “I love you.” And she closed the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Guy came by only once after that, the next day. He came to apologize. He told her he’d never meant to do anything that could hurt her. He could touch girls easier while he’d been drinking, but at the same time it clouded his judgment, just as it did everyone else. And it wasn’t his intention to make a move on her, it just happened. It wasn’t why he took her out drinking, he just wanted to make her feel better. And she knew every word was true.

“Why did you tell Asch?”

He touched the cut in his lip where he’d been hit, smiling slightly, but even that didn’t look happy. His brows were furrowed, and his lips were tight. “I-” He looked up at her. She just stared back, waiting for him to continue. “I didn’t want you to have to.”

She bit her lip again, still sore from the other night. The guilty feeling was back, bubbling as far up as her chest. She had lost Asch for good now, and though Guy still cared so much for her, she still loved him too much to forget.

“Just, tell me one thing.” She looked up at him, at his pleading eyes, lost, defeated. “If… If I had said something first would you…”

She nodded, not having to let him finish. She had thought about it a lot over the past month. It was a hurtful truth, but the truth nonetheless. If Asch hadn’t kissed her that morning, she would have fallen in love with Guy, without a second thought.

He smiled, not happy with this knowledge at all. Behind his eyes there was just… nothing. A glossed over look while he smiled, his face slack. “Thank you.” And he was gone. From her life, from the manor, from all of Kimlasca it seemed. He was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

She found work as a teacher. She specialized in economics, international relations, ethics, politics, and history. To keep herself busy she taught archery, poise, and dance classes after school and on the weekend. The only time she had to think was when she managed to finish her work for the night and laid down to sleep. They were the times she hated the most.

“Now students. We have a very special speaker today. Duke Fabre’s son come in and talk to us about politics today. So I want all of you to be on your best behavior when he gets here, all right?”

The excitement of the class mirrored her own emotions. How long had it been since she had last seen Asch? About two years now would be right. He would be married to the princess now and preparing to take over the spot as king since the current King Ingobert fell ill. She didn’t pay attention to court announcements involving him. She didn’t want to know.

It was after lunch when she finally saw him, leaving the bathroom. She froze when she saw his red hair advancing toward her. He stopped when their eyes locked and they stayed that way for a moment before Meryl was able to compose herself. She began pulling down on her sleeves.

His eyes followed her movements, stopping on her hands and widening. He stormed over to her, grabbing her wrist and pulling the cloth back. He stared at them, his breath quickening, refusing to allow her to pull away. “What is this?” His voice was a hiss. “Meryl, what is this!” He looked at her, his eyes sharp, frightening her.

“Asch, let go.” She tried to wiggle her arm free. Though it was her chest that hurt. She could already feel her throat burning. “You’re hurting me.”

He pulled on her wrist. “It seems you are perfectly fine with pain to me.”

“Asch, let go of me!”

“What are you thinking? You are a teacher.”

“Asch!

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Let go!”

“I thought you were more intelligent than this.”

“Asch!” She pulled her free hand back and slapped him hard enough that his head snapped to the side. The sound reverberated off the hallway walls and left a stinging feeling on her palm. She glared at him, not quite sure what had just happened. As he slowly looked back at her, the spot where she slapped him darkened and the curves of her fingers became slowly visible. She realized that she had just hit Asch. “I- I said let go.”

He threw her hand back at her. “Fine. Go ahead and kill yourself, see how much I care.”

The last thing she saw was his retreating back. She didn’t go to the speech. Instead she wound up drinking for the first time since her night with Guy, alone.


	15. Chapter 15

Had it been a month? A year? She wasn’t conscious of time anymore. She wasn’t even sure how old she was. Eventually she stopped going to work. People came by every few weeks or so to check in on her, but she didn’t respond. Eventually they stopped coming.

When her father was home, she pretended to be in high spirits, but he was able to see right through her. She was his angel after all, and he would always see when something was wrong even before she did.

She just kept thinking over and over and over about what Asch told her.

_Fine. Go ahead and kill yourself, see how much I care._

She might as well have. Before she had just been depressed, releasing the pressure in her chest the only ways she could think to. Now that she’d stopped, it just kept growing bigger and heavier until it was all she could feel, from the constant headaches that just seemed to blur her mind into nothingness, to the numbness of her fingers that made everything she touched seem imaginary. Nothing was real anymore, not even her.

There was a knocking one day - or was it night? - at her door. When she ignored it, it turned into a banging. She covered her ears, trying to get rid of the ringing it caused. She just silently screamed at it to go away, go away, go away! But it just kept growing stronger until she was rocking back and forth, sobbing audibly. “Go away!”

There was a bang. Meryl flinched. Whomever it was had kicked in the door. She looked up, frightened, her first feeling in she didn’t know how long. It was enough to shake her entire body.

“Meryl!” Asch ran toward her and pulled her into him, squeezing her so tight she could feel his fingers press into her shoulder blades. His hair fell into his face, brushing over her lips, and resting on her cheeks. From his body she started to feel warmth wash over her. But still there was a cold resting in her stomach like the bottom of a puddle before the sun had a chance to warm it. This couldn’t be real.

She pushed him at arm’s length, her hands shaking against his chest. “Asch?” She looked slowly up at his face, pausing momentarily where her tears had wet his shirt. Never in her fantasies had something so realistic happened. Nothing in her life was so real.

He placed his hand behind her head and pulled her into him again. “You idiot! I thought you were dead!” She noticed then that he was shaking too. “I went to your school today to talk to the students again and you weren’t there. The teachers all said you’d just stopped coming, no one knew what happened to you. I thought you’d really gone and killed yourself!”

Her hands slowly gripped onto his shirt. “But, you told me you wouldn’t care.”

“Of course I would care! Do you really think I would just shrug it off if you just went and offed yourself? Damnit, Meryl!”

She slowly rested her head on his chest. His heartbeat filled her ears, quick, faster even than hers, frightening. “I wanted to.”

His shaking stopped. He was just frozen to her. The only thing that still moved was his chest, deep and wide to keep himself breathing.

“I was ready to. I had the razor to my wrists that night after we saw each other. I went as far as to see blood before my hands started shaking too hard to continue. I cut into my skin, leaving a jagged hole that made me want to throw up.” She gripped the hand with the scar. “It was the first time it hurt.”

“Why would you do such a stupid thing? I really thought you were smarter than this!”

“I did it because of you, you jerk!”

“I’m not worth your life!”

“Do you have any idea how much I care about you?” She pushed him away from her again, scooting back, so she was out of arm’s reach. “I loved you, and when I had to leave I spent every day thinking about you non stop. Every moment hurt me, hurt my chest and made my heart physically ache.” With every word her chest deflated a bit, but the pressure was released throughout her body and made everything burn, the pain intensifying with every breath. “So I went out drinking, and I got distoriented, and yes, I kissed Guy! The two of us were drunk and we kissed.” She ignored him flinch. “Have you ever been drunk Asch? You’re over twenty now, you can do that. Have you? Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a cool head while drunk? It’s not like I had the ability to just say no. I was lonely and lost and you weren’t around, Asch. You weren’t.”

She clutched at her chest, her voice cracking. “And I went to tell you, because I felt so fucking guilty. I felt like I betrayed you. But you just looked at me like I was some sort of harlot and sent me away. It hurt. Oh Lorelei, it hurt.” She leaned on the arm of the couch for support. “But I didn’t betray you the way you betrayed me. One mistake and I was thrown out. Did you even care about me, Asch? Did you even give a shit? Because it didn’t feel like it.”

She dropped to her knees, her arms falling limp to the floor. She stared at her palms as everything that she’d pent up over the years came pouring out all at once. “Two years, Asch. Two years I spent loving you, never for one day wavering in my love while you ignored me. Do you have any idea how much that hurt me? Did you even stop to think about it?” She clutched herself, pulling at her clothes to take the heat away, searing her skin like she was burning at the stake. “And then when I saw you again, you just treated me like I was something disgusting and told me to die. You told me to die."

He dropped to his knees in front of her and kissed her. Her body washed over with cold. She clung to him, pulling at him to get him closer. He was washing out the flames of everything that had happened. “Never once.” His breath was barely above her own. “Never once in seventeen years have I ever not loved you.” He wrapped his arms behind her back and lifted her to him. “Never have I been able to forget how much I care about you.” He kissed her again. “Never once.”

Somehow the two made it to her bed. With him towering over her him whispering over and over, “I love you”.


	16. Chapter 16

They didn’t have sex that night. Instead he just held her close to him, tracing the lines on her wrists and her thighs. He watched them, like he thought they’d change. She just watched his face, more serious than it usually was, deep in thought and far away.

“Marry me.”

She pushed him back, just enough that their chests weren’t making contact. “What?”

“Marry me.” He was serious, really serious. His eyes were locked on her, soft as stone. She couldn’t look away.

“But the princess.” She bit her lip. “Aren’t you two married?”

He stared at her. “You haven’t heard? Meryl, it’s been two years. You taught politics.” She didn’t answer, didn’t know how. “We nullified the engagement. My uncle approved it as well. She’s married to a Malkuth noble now.” He slipped his fingers through her hair. “Meryl, I’m unbound.”

She stared at him, her throat thickening with tears. “What about your position?”

“I’m the son of a viscount, not a prince. I'm permitted to marry whomever I please.” He kissed her and she held onto him, pulling him close as she two seperate people could be. As her Asch. Not the princesses, not the young master, not the forbidden fruit. Her love. Hers. And it was so much sweeter this way. “And I please you.”

She giggled at his awkward wording, unsure of how she was feeling, everything was hazy but so vibrant. The red of his hair was enough to make her heart beat in her ears. She let her face rest in the crook of his neck, his hair resting lightly between them, filling her with a giddy, tickling strawberry scent. She knew she would have to answer him definitely soon, or he wouldn’t see it as an acceptance. But for now she just concentrated on the feeling of his chest as he took in a deep breath of her scent, buried in her hair.


	17. Chapter 17

Meryl bit her lip to stop from giggling at the sight before her: Badaq, standing six-foot eleven, started down at Asch, five-foot-nine, while Asch tried to find the words to ask for his daughters, his angels, hand. She leaned on the wall, her arms crossed to keep her composure. If she laughed now Asch would lose his nerve, and that would not bode well with her papa, who valued strength and determination.

“Yes boy?” She could see the gleam in his eye. He was playing with him. He already knew why Asch was here and had made his decision. But Asch was far too serious to notice.

“Sir.” She could see him literally sweating. “I was… I-“

“Yes? Out with it boy.”

Meryl let out a squeak that could have easily been mistaken for fear. She covered her mouth and waved at them to continue.

Her interruption had lessened the thickness of the air and caused Badaq to smile. Asch noticed. He straightened his back and spoke with a clear voice. “Sir Badaq, I would like your permission to marry your daughter.”

Badaq stared down at him, his face overly serious. Even Meryl couldn’t see the hint of amusement she usually did. Only years of falling for the same trick made it apparent to her. She saw Asch squeeze his hands into fists over and over again, rhythmically.

“You hurt my daughter.” Asch froze, his fists clenched. “You make her suffer alone for two years, you treat her like a villain upon meeting her again, and you abandon her only to come back a year later, requesting forgiveness without repentance. Why, boy, should I give you my daughter’s hand? Why do you think you deserve her?”

Asch stared at the floor. His eyes were soft, his face slack. He didn’t have a reason. He didn’t think, not anymore, that he did.

Meryl reached out, taking his hand. He looked at her, her expression matching his. She smiled. He knew the answer, she knew, but he had to look past the concrete, the facts.

He held tight to her hand and looked back up to Badaq, meeting his gaze full on for the first time, though his lips were still tight, unsure. “Because I-” He begun to waver. She cupped his hand in her other one. “Because I love her. And she-” He looked at her and smiled. “And she loves me. And she deserves to have everything she wants.”

Badaq’s face was hard for another minute. Finally he smiled, soft, like Meryl always remembered him. “Then you have my blessing.”

“Papa!” She ran to him, throwing herself into his arms. He lifted her and gave her a long embrace. “Papa, thank you.”

“He needs you, Meryl. You need to be his angel now.”

“Oh Papa, I’m not going anywhere. You will always be my hero.” Her feet touched the ground again and she pulled back, smiling up at him. “Besides, you will have grandchildren some day to light your way. However will they know what a hero is without you?”

“They will have their own hero.”

She followed his gaze back to Asch, who had looked away, not sure how else to respond to the scene before him.

“Go, Meryl, light up his pitch black world. Be his angel.”

With one last squeeze of her father’s hand, she wrapped her arms around Asch, kissing her fiance.


End file.
